In Slags, we meet Sarah, early forties, career-focused, partial to casual sex and a few too many wines. Her sister Juliette, by contrast, is married with two kids and carrying much of the responsibility for their ageing parents. For Juliette’s birthday, Sarah organises a much needed escape for the two of them, a road trip through the Scottish Highlands, complete with all the chaos, bickering, and boozy debauchery you’d expect from two sisters letting loose.
The novel oscillates between past and present, moving between the sisters’ road trip and their intense teenage years. As teens, we dive into Sarah’s infatuation with her high school teacher, her best friend Nessa’s unwavering devotion to a local boy band, the thrill of experimenting with drinking and drugs, and the brutal drama of high school politics. These chapters are an absolute highlight. Unsworth captures the sheer intensity of girlhood so vividly it feels almost physical. The nostalgia, the obsession, the misplaced confidence of thinking you’ve got it all figured out when you’re really just swimming upstream. Equal parts hilarious and excruciating in the best way.
In adulthood, Sarah is navigating the blurry lines of her relationship with alcohol, the nuances of being single and child-free, the emotional toll of ageing parents, and the ripple effects of the choices she’s made, particularly in relation to her sister. All while showing us how those formative teenage years shape us, stay with us, and quietly haunt us for life.
Slags offers an honest, complex portrayal of girlhood in all its nuances and contradictions, delivered with a sharp sense of humour that’s an absolute standout. It will quite literally have you laughing out loud, thanks to its perfectly timed one-liners, sharply observed truths, and unexpected warmth.
Oh, and it’s under 280 pages. I’d like to officially put my hand up and say that more books should be this length.
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